Narcos season 3: What to expect

The drug empire drama returns to Netflix on September 1. Here’s what’s in store

For those of you who have seen the first two seasons of the Netflix drug-trafficking drama Narcos, you will know that these dealt with the rise of the Medellin Cartel, leading to the – spoilers – death of Pablo Escobar. For those of your who haven’t tuned in before, go and watch it now.

In just under a month’s time, Narcos returns to Netflix, bringing with it another hit of hard drama and even harder drugs. Take a look at the trailer below, and read on to see what’s in store this season.

Season 3 sees the introduction of a new cartel. The Cali Cartel will be this new focus and, rather than the bombastic, big-guns approach of Escobar’s Medellin outfit, we will see much sneakier goings-on this time around. Think the bribing of government officials, and keeping violence and underhand dealings out of the public domain and press.

That’s not to say that there won’t be explosive moments. Just take a look at the trailer. There’ll still be enough gunfights and destruction to shake a stick at. Oh, and don’t forget the mountains of cocaine.

The introduction of the Cali Cartel will also bring a whole host of new faces to Narcos. This operation is run by the ‘Kings’, Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela (Damian Alcazar), the overall Cali Cartel leader and the “boss of bosses,” Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela (Francisco Denis), and the brains behind the rise of the of Cali Cartel, Pacho Herrera (Alberto Ammann).

Chepe Santacruz Londono (Pepe Rapazote), will also become a key character when he is tasked with running the satellite New York City empire of the Colombian drug network. Other new characters include the Cali’s head of security, Jorge Salcedo (Matias Varela) and – on the right side of the law – DEA agents Chris Feistl (Michael Stahl-David) and Daniel Van Ness (Matt Whelan), who enter the operation with enthusiasm but little experience.

Pedro Pascal will return as Javier Pena, but Boyd Holbrook will not be reappearing as Agent Steve Murphy.

Again, Narcos is running a 10-episode season, which will give plenty of time for the body count to rise and will provide the perfect jumping-off point for Narcos season 4, which has already been confirmed by Netflix.

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